Forestry and Trees

​​​​The Forest Commissioner is appointed by the Minister of Agriculture to execute the aims of the Forest Ordinance and the Protected Trees Order. The Forest Commissioner oversees the handling and management of forests which carried out by the Jewish National Fund on behalf of the government. The Forest Commissioner is charged with approving forest work schemes and the oversight of the implementation thereof. The Forest Commissioner oversees, directs and manages the tree conservation enterprise throughout the country, within and outside forests.

The Forestry and Trees Unit at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development serves as an executive arm of the Minister of Agriculture on all matters addressed by the Forest Ordinance. Within its jurisdiction, the Forest Commissioner formulates policies in accordance with Ministerial directives and implements them vis-à-vis the JNF and municipal forest officials and the professional entities engaged in this endeavor.

The Forest Commissioner at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is the backbone of Israel’s forestation and tree protection policy and is the central coordinator of all the authorities delineated by the applicable laws and it maintains an out-of-the-box approach to forest preserves and to the conservation of trees outside of forests.